Brazil is expanding its military presence on the border with Guyana and Venezuela
The International Court of Justice ruled on Friday (1) that Venezuela cannot attempt to annex Essequibo, the oilrich region of Guyana that Caracas claims as its own.
The decision applies to the referendum that Venezuela will hold on Sunday (3) on the incorporation of Essequibo.
However, Caracas has already declared that it does not recognize the Hague Court and that therefore conducts the public consultation. The court is the highest court of the United Nations (UN) to settle disputes between states, but cannot force countries to comply with its decisions.
Hence this Friday’s decision has more symbolic than practical value.
The decision, the first by an international court on the issue, favors Guyana, but does not make a final decision on who owns the territory.
The court in The Hague unanimously found that it was not yet possible to determine who should keep Essequibo, which Venezuela has claimed since Guyana gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. However, it decided that Caracas could not, for the time being, intervene in the current status of the territory.
The judges of the International Court of Justice also found this “Both countries must refrain from any actions that exacerbate the border dispute”.
“This decision does not change the underlying reasons for the controversy arising from Venezuela’s dispute over the annulment of the 1899 Paris Arbitration Award, a judgment that sought to establish the border between Venezuela and the colonies of the United Kingdom,” said Ricardo Salvador de Toma, doctor and researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul on the Essequibo litigation.
1 in 3 man walks in front of a wall with a message claiming the Essequibo region of Guyana is Venezuelan in Caracas on November 29, 2023. Photo: Matias Delacroix/ AP Man walks in front of a wall with a message claiming that the Guyanese region of Essequibo as a Venezuelan woman, in Caracas, on November 29, 2023. — Photo: Matias Delacroix/ AP
In the vote it plans to hold on Sunday, the Venezuelan government will ask its citizens whether they support granting Venezuelan citizenship to the 125,000 residents of the region known to Venezuelans as “Guiana Essequiba.”
Among the questions in the referendum is whether voters want to “integrate this state into the map of Venezuela.”
Guyana, which administers the region, claims that the Venezuelan initiative poses a threat to Guyana’s sovereignty.
2 of 3 Map shows Guyana and the Essequibo region Photo: Vitoria Coelho/g1 Map shows Guyana and the Essequibo region Photo: Vitoria Coelho/g1
In 2018, Guyana requested the court in The Hague to confirm the legal validity and binding effect of the judgment regarding the border between the colony of English Guiana and the United States of Venezuela of October 3, 1899.
In April, the International Court of Justice declared that it had the legitimacy to rule on the dispute.
Guyana urged the court to take emergency measures to stop voting in Venezuela. The Venezuelan government said the request constituted interference in an internal matter and violated the constitution.
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said that “nothing will prevent the referendum scheduled for December 3 from taking place.” She also said that despite her appearance before the Court, this does not mean that Venezuela recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over the dispute.
Maduro defends law against Essequibo
3 of 3 The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, on a visit to Brasília Photo: Ueslei Marcelino/Portal The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, on a visit to Brasília Photo: Ueslei Marcelino/Portal
On social media, Nicolás Maduro defended the vote and claimed the place belonged to Venezuela.
“We will not allow anyone to take what is ours, nor will we betray our principles. We will defend Essequibo!” he said.
“Let’s all vote yes five times on December 3rd,” he concluded.